By Barbara A. Killmeyer

The other day I ran into a friend that I hadn’t seen for quite some time. I asked Sophie how she was enjoying her retirement, and she replied that she was having a wonderful time. She went on to explain that once a month she has a cooking class in her home for some neighborhood children. She said that she always liked to cook and had developed some pretty good recipes over the years. She thought it would be nice to share her love of cooking and to pass on her knowledge. Now, once a month youngsters come to her home to learn how to make special dishes. “We have such a good time. We plan at each get-together what we will make the following month. They get a kick out of surprising their parents with what they learned,” Sophie said.

Sophie said that she got the idea from Jim, a friend of hers who was a pretty good chess player. He told her that a boy who lived next door to him had asked him a question about the game. Jim got out his chess board to show him the answer to his question and the two of them had such a good time that now every other week several boys and girls meet at the library to learn as they play. Jim gathers small inexpensive items to use as prizes for the winners.  “There’s nothing like seeing the excitement on the face of a child who has just won his first chess game. I’m getting as much fun out of these times together as they are,” Jim said.

I thought about the many different ways we can share out skills or talents. It doesn’t always have to be children who are the recipients; other adults can benefit from our experience and knowledge too. Here are a few ideas for both children and adults.

Are you good at math? You might want to contact your local school and offer to tutor a child who is having trouble with the subject. Do you enjoy reading? Most schools would appreciate someone who would come in once a week and read stories to the children in the lower grades, or many areas have adult literacy programs where you can help an adult to increase their reading skills. If you have a hobby such as oil painting, knitting, or making greeting cards, you would be a welcome addition to any senior citizen center as a guest speaker or as a person who would teach others how to enjoy your hobby.

By sharing what we know with others, we benefit as well as they do. We get a great sense of satisfaction and a big boost to our self-esteem, and they get the opportunity to learn something new to enjoy for a lifetime.

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For more activities of interest to seniors, see What's Happening for Seniors.